Ministry Of Energy News

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

Esgian reports that offshore drilling contractors secured additional backlog in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, Nigeria, and Brazil and operators confirmed new discoveries in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, and China in its Week 10 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsDiamond Offshore has executed a two-year contract extension with a subsidiary of bp in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for the 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackHornet.Shelf Drilling’s 250-ft jackup Rig 141 has secured a two-year…

An oil leak from a barge carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil that capsized in early February off the Caribbean island of Tobago has stopped, said the twin islands' government on Thursday.The spill, which was first spotted off the coast of Tobago's Atlantic coast on Feb. 7, damaged some of the island's mangrove and threatened its tourism and fishing sector. The spill also entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and Caribbean islands, including Bonaire."The hydrocarbon discharge emanating from the overturned vessel located off the coast of Tobago has stopped…

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

Trinidad and Tobago has hired two remediation and salvage firms to help clean up an ongoing oil spill off Tobago and salvage the leaking barge, the country's Ministry of Energy said on Tuesday.It has been almost two weeks since the oil spill was first discovered off Tobago's Atlantic coast after a barge ran aground on a reef. The spill has entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and Grenada."An international partnership comprised of T&T Salvage LLC and QT Environmental Inc…

Russian ports are operating during more severe storms and easing restrictions for non ice-class vessels during winter, traders said and regulations showed, in an attempt to boost exports following disruptions from Western sanctions and harsh weather.Following the European Union oil embargo, Russia has to rely mostly on seaborne loadings, rather than westbound pipeline supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.Traders and analysts said the easing of restrictions carried technical and ecological risks, but could help Russia's revenues that are heavily reliant on oil.Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft,

Suhail Al Mazrouei, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV Maritime, representing the Foundation Det Norske Veritas, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on establishing a new UAE Decarbonization Center. The MOU was signed at a ceremony at the International Maritime Organization's headquarters in London, H.E "The Marine Environment Protection Committee’s (MEPC) 80th session this month showed that shipping is now on an accelerating path towards full decarbonization.

The Danish government has postponed the launch of a tender to establish a North Sea energy island project due to high costs, the country's ministry of energy said on Wednesday.The project included the construction of an artificial island in the North Sea that would serve as a hub to gather and distribute power generated by surrounding offshore wind turbines.

The United Arab Emirates is tightening insurance requirements for vessels registered under its flag, according to a government advisory, amid growing concerns over ships sailing without top tier cover in the event of an oil spill.Ships typically have protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance which covers liability claims including environmental damage and injury.

Shell PLC's LNG Canada export project in British Columbia plans to start building its proposed second phase with natural gas-powered turbines and switch to electricity as more renewable power becomes available, a top executive said, a decision that means the expansion project will initially generate high greenhouse gas emissions.LNG Canada, in which Japan's Mitsubishi Corp owns a 15% stake, is set to be Canada's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. The first phase…

Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the first countries to back a new initiative aiming to advance the production, export and import of low-carbon fuels for shipping.The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), along with the CEO-led Clean Energy Maritime Taskforce, unveiled the ‘Clean Energy Marine Hubs Initiative’ on Friday at the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in Pittsburgh. The Initiative will be a convening platform for public and private senior-level stakeholders from the ports…

Marine fuel supplier Minerva Bunkering announced it has launched a new marine fuels supply service in the Red Sea ports of Yanbu and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."The Red Sea is one of the shipping industry's most important waterways yet one that has historically offered limited bunkering options to serve the global fleet. We believe Minerva's new operation will support the increasing number of vessels calling these ports as well as provide a highly efficient service with minimal deviation for transiting vessels needing bunkers…

This week, Seaspan Ferries Corporation became the first Canadian marine company to pilot the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by its roll-on, roll-off liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered marine fleet. Seaspan expects that data from the pilot will confirm that, by using RNG, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by upwards of 85% versus traditional diesel fuel.Seaspan has worked closely with FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) to secure a source of certified carbon neutral RNG.“Renewable natural gas…

In the next decade, we’ll see more accelerated change in shipping fuels than we’ve seen in the last century. What does this heightened diversity mean for shipowners? They must be nimbler than ever – a shift that requires work. It means greening supply chains, bolstering energy efficiency, nurturing more partnerships, streamlining costs, and becoming adept at green finance (frequent change can be expensive to start with). All will help shipowners’ fuel portfolios adapt to the inevitable…

India’s Union Cabinet has given its approval for a cooperation agreement between India and Denmark on strategic sector cooperation in the field of renewable energy with a focus on offshore wind.According to a government release, the Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for a Cooperation Agreement between Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate of the Kingdom of Denmark on strategic sector cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy with a focus on Offshore Wind Energy and a Letter of Intent to establish an Indo-Danish Centreof Excellence for renewable energy in India.

Against the backdrop of a sharp drop in oil prices sharply increased their exports, Russia has set a new record for oil production in 2015. This is a new record for oil production (including gas condensate) - 534 081 000 tons, which is 1.4% higher than in 2014, reports "Interfax" referring to the data of the Central Supervisory Control fuel and energy complex. The leader was the company "Bashneft". Others are "Gazprom Neft", "Surgutneftegaz" and reduced "Rosneft", "Lukoil" and "Slavneft". According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2015, oil companies have earned on the devaluation of about 400 billion rubles, according to forecasts, in 2016 this figure fell to 300 billion rubles.

Ophir and its joint venture partners, BG Tanzania (Shell) and Pavilion Energy, have concluded the drilling of two exploration wells offshore Tanzania, safely and on time.   The programme comprised Kitatange-1 in Block 1 and Bunju-1 in Block 4.  After evaluation, Shell, the operator of Blocks 1 and 4, has confirmed that good quality reservoir was encountered in both wells, however hydrocarbons were not found.   The Noble Globetrotter 2 rig has been demobilised from site.  The two wells fulfil the final exploration commitments as per the exploration licences issued by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM).   Subsequent to the completion of drilling Kitatange-1, a bridging licence has been awarded for the existing discovery Locations in Block 1.

On October 6, 2019, a naming and flag raising ceremony was held in Vladivostok for Sovcomflot’s latest Arctic shuttle tanker. The vessel was named after Mikhail Lazarev, a prominent Russian admiral and explorer known for his discovery of Antarctica. The tanker was ordered by Sovcomflot to transport crude oil for the Novy Port project, under a long-term agreement between Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft.The ceremony was attended by Oleg Melnikov, Vice-Governor of Primorsky Region and Sergey Frank…

Indonesia has approved the development plan for the Mako gas field, Empyrean Energy PLC and Coro Energy PLC said.Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has approved the plan of development (POD) for the Mako gas field at the Duyung production sharing contract (PSC), offshore Indonesia, said a joint statement.Mako is located on the Duyung production sharing contract, which covers 890 square kilometres offshore the Riau Islands province.Tom Kelly, CEO of Empyrean, said: "The POD approval by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Indonesia is another important milestone in progressing the Mako Gas Field towards producon.

Polish Ministry of Energy has finished internal work on draft 'offshore wind act'. The draft is to be further proceeded now by Government on the legislative path through public consultations.Dedicated offshore wind act is one of the most awaited key drivers for opening and boosting of Polish offshore wind energy sector development.The ministry said that the draft is the result of “intensive work and consultations with many partners” and is now ready for “further legislative work”.Minister of energy Krzysztof Tchorzewski said: “I am convinced that the proposed regulations will significantly contribute to the future creation of a systemically formed offshore wind energy sector in Poland.”"We hope we will spend the remainder of November and December on streamlining the project," he said.

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) was awarded first prize at the 2017 International Competition of Scientific, Technical and Innovative Developments aimed at the Exploration and Development of the Arctic and the Continental Shelf, held under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Energy. The prize was awarded to a team of Sovcomflot experts for the development and practical implementation of technological solutions enabling year-round oil shipments from the Gulf of Ob. The winning team was led by Igor Tonkovidov, Executive Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer of Sovcomflot. The awards ceremony took place in St. Petersburg on 12 September…

Energy related maritime solutions and services provider MISC Berhad (MISC) has made inroads into Thailand’s offshore oil and gas market for the first time. MISC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MISC Offshore Floating Terminals (L) Limited (MOFT) signed a contract for the lease and operations of a Floating, Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) for the FSO Benchamas 2 Project by Chevron Offshore (Thailand) Ltd. (COTL) in the Gulf of Thailand. The contract was secured through an international competitive bidding process and marks MISC’s maiden foray into Thailand’s offshore oil and gas market.

Domestic glut prompts Lithuania  government to consider selling-off surplus gas supplies, reports Reuters. Lithuanian LNG importer Litgas could be about to start re-exporting LNG bought. Lithuania opened an LNG import terminal in 2014 and started exporting natural gas to neighbouring Estonia earlier this year, breaking the supply monopoly of Gazprom. The Ministry of Energy forecasts that, in 2016, the required gas amount in the terminal will exceed the total LNG demand of regulated energy producers. The decrease of gas consumption results in bigger terminal maintenance costs for its users, therefore, the ministry wants to place the tax burden also on those users who have nothing to do with the terminal.